


Pretty Replacable

by Conatum



Category: Sorted (Website) RPF, Sortedfood - Fandom
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Real people, very adult jamie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-09-23 20:32:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9675068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Conatum/pseuds/Conatum
Summary: Ben is worried that he is going to be replaced. Jamie is there to correct him.





	

Jamie poked his head into he kitchen to find Ben clutching his hand, cursing quietly to himself. 

“You alright there?” Jamie watched as Ben wrapped a tea towel around his hand.

“Fine, fine it just slipped.” Ben winced as Jaime walked up to the counter, leaning on it.

“You don’t slip mate.” Ben glanced up at Jamie, who watching him, uncharacteristically serious.

After a few moments Ben sighed, “Well if you’re going to stare at me why don’t you grab the med kit,” he snapped, peeling back the towel.

“Mate that is a proper deep cut,” Jamie grabbed the kit from the top shelf, flipping it open as Ben ran his hand under some water.

“It’s fine.” He mumbled, grabbing a drying his hand with the end of the towel that didn’t have any blood on it.

Jamie watched him for a second, “You okay?”

The chef scoffed, “I just said I was fine.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” Jamie popped open the plasters, peeling one off and passing it to a silent Ben. “You haven’t been eating lately have you?”

Ben knew it wasn’t a question, so he ignored his friend, gingerly placing the plaster over the cut on his hand.

“I’m serious Ben. You only do this when you get overwhelmed. C’mon we all noticed.” Jamie sighed, “We remember what happened last time.” Last time involved a trip to the hospital, after a fairly relentless series of finals, breakups, and general young adult angst, which the four of them remember vividly.

“I can’t keep up.” Ben finally mumbled, looking up at Jamie. “I can’t keep doing it. Between the filming of the videos and the prep cooking and concept cooking. I can’t keep up.”

“We can change your schedule or…oh.” Jamie watched as Ben placed the final plaster on his hand, “That’s not it.”

“Are we the therapist now?” He scoffed as the older man handed him the gauze. 

“Since I had a two year old who cried if I gave her cereal in the wrong bowl. C’mon, what is it.”

Ben smiled, no humor behind it, “You are going to laugh.”

“I swear I won’t.” Jamie watched as the younger man fiddled with the gauze. 

“If I don’t keep up, I’m gonna be pretty easy to replace.” Jamie stared at the chef, unable to respond.

“You…who the hell is replacing people?”

Ben sighed, “Every one. Why the hell do you think I’ve been in the kitchen every day? No one needs me anymore. You three are fine, off getting married, James is a better chef than me and lord know I can’t edit or film-“

“I’m sorry, James is a better chef? We are fine without you? What the hell has gotten into you?”

“You all! You all told me yourselves!” Ben practically shouted “Every day. I got it from my family, got it from you all, got it from every single kitchen I’ve ever worked in, a chef can be replaced. We all know everyone prefers James to me. Any day.”

“Ben.” Jamie approached cautiously, “You know all that, earlier. We were just joking. You know that right? We don’t want to replace you. We can’t replace you you’re our best mate. And if you’re so useless why the hell are you in the kitchen all the time? Yeah we get carried away with the teasing but not a single one of us thinks you are replaceable Ben. No one can replace you. If you want us to stop…”

Ben said quietly before sighing and looking up to meet Jamie. “I don’t mind, really. I have quite a thick skin. I just…“ He paused for a moment, waiting for Jamie to cut him off. When the other man stayed unusually silent Ben continued, “I don’t want to be holding you all back. James can do what I do and I just don’t want to become useless.” 

Jamie grabbed the gauze, unwrapping it and gently covering the chef’s hand. “You know, when we were younger, I always did sort of envy you. Not your uncomfortable nerdy social skills but...I wanted to have a passion like yours, and to be able to do thing like you and to keep my bloody mouth shut sometimes. You're so smart but you decided not to do what everyone told you to do and go and do something you loved. You were-you are always the smartest and the perfectionist and even if you got something wrong, you didn’t let it stop you or hold you back. You just kept getting better and helping us get better too.”

Ben smiled at that as Jamie continued. “Yeah sometimes we get a bit on your back but let’s be honest, you deserve it.” Ben laughed at that, and Jamie kept going, “But no matter what, James isn’t you, okay? And you aren’t James. And that’s how this whole thing works out. Trust me.” Jamie waited as Ben finally looked at him. “Better?”

Ben nodded sheepishly. “Yeah. You know what?”

“What?”

“I’m bloody starving. “ Ben smiled as Jamie laughed.

“C’mon, lunch break on me.” He lightly punched Ben on the shoulder. Ben laughed, shaking his head.

“Idiot,” he said affectionately before following his friend out into the office.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I know non-romantic fics aren't super popular but the Sorted crew is group dynamics on steroids. Jamie is usually an idiot but I feel like when needed, he is the mature-dad one. Again thank you for reading, and as always, comments are welcome!


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